The Captain s girls
by GalliaDavia
Summary: Jonathan Archer finds himself between two strong women - inspired by a deleted scene from "The Expansion". Rated M just in case. My first fanfic about Star Treks most handsome captain - may J.T. Kirk forgive me! PLEASE review!
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer first – I don´t any of the Star Trek – Enterprise characters and this is not to earn any money or something, but just for fun!**_

_This is my first Enterprise fanfic and it´s inspired by a scene I just discovered by accident while watching "The Expanse" last night. It´s declared a deleted scene where he meets mysterious Becky, a character I didn´t know about before, at a restaurant on Earth and it gets quickly quite obvious that there is some kind of a not too serious, but nevertheless quite intimate relationship/friendship between them, regarding Archer´s job a quite handy idea. And as I just liked the way he got back from deep space after months, kissing the woman as if he had only been gone to buy cigarettes – so I decided to take this as a start J I might simply have missed further episode about this Becky character so far, but I haven´t seen all episodes so far anyway – so maybe I´ll get enlightened soon *g*  
_

_**Kayla meeting the other important woman in Jonathan Archer´s life, T´Pol, and the rest of the crew coming up next!**_

_**Enjoy reading – reviews are VERY welcome!**_

_

* * *

_„The planet is uninhabited as we have been told. The atmosphere is suitable for humans. There shouldn't occur any problems."

Jonathan Archer lent back in his chair and nodded. T´Pol finished her briefing on the short expedition they were heading for. Accompanying a team of scientists to an uninhabited planet close to the Vulcan territory promised to be just the nice and quiet trip they could use after the last few weeks. That had probably been on Admiral Forrester´s mind as well.

"Mr. Tucker informed me that we have already finished loading the provisions and spare parts, and that all crew members are back on board", she added.

"Sounds good. When will the research party arrive ?"

"In about half an hour. You want to welcome them on board in personal ?"

He nodded. "I will. I already talked to their leader, Dr. Garet. She told me that this planet we´re going to is quite beautiful and that the environment isn´t dangerous. This should give us the chance to get some fresh air and some shore leave. I think we need this."

T´Pol only nodded agreement.

"If there´s nothing else, captain…."

He smiled. "There´s only one thing. I want you to get some rest, too."

She was up to answer to that, but he interrupted her. "It´s an order, T´Pol."

She raised her eyebrows in that typical way he had gotten used to.

"In this case", she only said and pushed the button that would open the door for her to return to the bridge.

* * *

"I really don´t see why you accepted this job! Assistant! You´d deserve your own team of specialists!" Kayla rolled her eyes. "Stop telling me off for this, Debra, will you ? It´s just the right thing to get back on track and it´s a field I worked on in my early days with Starfleet. It´s fine!"

"I don´t understand you!" Debra insisted. "You´re selling yourself short, I tell you!"

The two women looked up when a member of the space station´s personnel approached them.

"Dr. Garet asked me to inform you that the team is getting ready to leave, Dr. Gaddison."

Kayla smiled to the man. "Thanks for informing me." He only nodded to her and left. She turned only hesitantly to Debra.

"The _Enterprise_ ?" her friend and colleague barked. "So this is not about the job or any research, isn´t it ?"

Kayla sighed, a smile playing around the corners of her mouth.

"This is about _Archer_ ?!" Debra slammed her palms to the table in front of them.

Keyla got up. "I´ll have to go and get my stuff. Thanks for lunch!"

"You didn´t tell me on purpose!" Debra accused her.

Kayla smiled. "You´re right. Though I didn´t hope to really succeed in keeping it a secret that long!"

"Good Lord, girl, you should really know better by now!"

The blonde scientist rolled her eyes. "I´m a grownup, Debra!"

"You´re a fool!" the friend snarled.

"Are you going to say goodbye or are you going to continue yelling at me ?"

Debra grimaced, still looking angry. "Get your ass to your quarters. I am gonna help you with your stuff!"

Kayla smiled, leaving the cafeteria and heading to her quarters. From her point of view, there was nothing to know better about regarding Enterprises´s captain. There was just never enough to know about him for her.

* * *

"This will be very interesting, captain!" Phlox had been talking all the way down to the airlock. He was obviously looking forward to work together with the team of scientists they were up to welcome, and not only as it was led by a Denobulan couple. He had worked with the human scientist joining them back on Earth, too, and couldn´t wait to renew the friendship. Lieutenant Reed threw his captain an amused look behind the doctor´s back.

The bulkhead finally opened. The team´s leader, Dr. Farise Garet, stepped forward, smiling to Archer and his crew mates.

"Dr. Garet!" Jon Archer took a step forward and they shook hands. "Welcome to Enterprise!"

"Thank you, Captain!" The Denobulan´s smile grew wider. "It´s a pleasure and, from what my esteemed colleague here told me", she added, nodding to Phlox, "an honour as well!" She turned. "Allow me to introduce you the rest of my team." She gestured towards the Denobulan male accompanying her. "My partner and husband, Dr. Esek", she said with another smile. The Denobulan nodded to all of them.

Archer realized in surprise that the woman next to the Denobulans was obviously an Andorian. "Dr. Isara Gan´wah", she introduced the tall blue skinned scientist. "She´s an exobiologist." She gestured to the Vulcan male. "Dr. Morak – he´s our expert for geology." She smiled again to Archer. "And it´s an outstanding pleasure to introduce my first human colleague, Dr. Morales, and his assistant."

Archer and Morales nodded to each other. Morales took a step aside to reveal the person standing right behind him. "My assistant, Dr. Gaddison", he added, gesturing towards Kayla. She nodded to the captain and his staff, the smile on her face getting mischievous while she watched the captain struggling to regain control over his features.

"Kayla ?" Jonathan asked, stunned.

She winked at him. "Jon."

Still trying to overcome the surprise, Jon Archer made an inviting gesture. "Well, I suggest we´ll show you all to your quarters first, and we can meet in about half an hour at the conference room for an initial talk. We will leave the station in fifteen minutes."

Dr. Garet nodded. "I agree, Captain." She glanced over to her Andorian and human colleagues. "Some members of my team are also very keen on being given a tour around your ship, if possible."

Archer grinned, throwing Tucka proud look. "It´s my pleasure!"

* * *

The scientists were led to their quarters and Archer saw for the Denobulan pair and the humans to it himself. Dr. Morales turned to him and Kayla when they turned to leave. "You prepared a separate quarter for Dr. Gaddison ?" he asked, pretending surprise.

His words had the effect he had planned on. Both Archer and Kayla turned to him in surprise.

"Just joking", he said with a grin, raising his hands in a defending gesture.

Kayla shook her head. "He´s got a weird sense of humour sometimes", she told the captain, shaking her head. „Well, your room is just across the corridor", Archer commented with a smile.

"I´ll see you later then!" Morales waved to them and they finally left.

* * *

As soon as the cabin´s door had closed behind them, Kayla dropped her bag and sank into his embrace. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she took a deep breath.

„You should have told me", he told her reproachfully, not loosening his embrace.

She took her time to answer him, enjoying the feeling of him that close to her.

"I know", she told him finally, leaning back a little to watch him. "Don´t be mad at me. I couldn´t other than take this chance!"

He opened his mouth to contradict, but she put her index finger over his lips. "Don´t!" she demanded lowly. "You would only have tried to reason me out of it, wouldn´t you."

He watched her for a moment, looking thoughtful and concerned. Then, instead of answering, he bent forward and kissed her. She ran her fingers through his hair, responding to his kiss. The moment alone was enough to make up for all the discomfort she had been through to get here.

"You should have stayed at home to recover!" he told her the moment they parted.

"Oh shut up, Captain!" she told him. "I got plenty of time to recover, and my injuries weren´t that bad."

"You could have been killed!" He cupped her face in his hands and she closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying his touch.

"Would have been quite frustrating if I had gotten killed in a rather unspectacular plane crash while you´re cheating death out here every minute!" She smiled. "You´ll end up famous one day!"

"For what ?" he asked. "Having put a price to my head by the Klingons ? Picking every possible fight with the Vulcans ? Riskink my crew and my ship ?" He eyed her up and she hoped that her appearance would finally put an end to his concern. "I am so sorry that I couldn´t be there", he whispered, pulling her closer again.

"Fool", she whispered back. He had told her that at least twice in every letter and message for the last months. "You had better things to do. And if the mountain won't come to Mohammed…"

She squealed softly when he lifted her up easily. "Good Lord!" she whispered.

"I missed you", he told her. "And you should have told me you´re coming."

"I don´t want you to be mad at me", she answered lowly. "And I knew you would be."

Her words made him chuckle. "Seems you´re gonna need to make amends for that!"

She lent in on him to kiss him again. "I promise", she whispered with a promising smile. "And now put me back to my feet, Captain!"

"Why should I ?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

Her smile widened.

"`Cause I wanna see humanity´s first warp five ship start!"


	2. Chapter 2

They rounded another corner.

"Shouldn´t you be on the bridge ?" Kayla asked.

Archer chuckled and called for Lieutenant Reed over the intercom. "Is our course set, Malcolm ?"

"It is, Sir!" the Lieutenant aswered.

"Fine. Ensign Mayweather shall take us out of here, slow impulse, in two minutes. You got the bridge."

"Understood, Captain!" Reed answered.

He turned to her. "Come on!"

* * *

The ship drifted slowly out of the space dock. The passed the space station. Then it vanished from their view through the officer´s mess large windows. They passed several other ships, arriving and leaving. When they had finally left the somehow crowded area around the station, he established a connection to the bridge again. "Mr. Mayweather – bring us to warp."

"Aye, Sir. How fast you want us to go ?"

Archer smiled. Kayla returned his smile, reaching out for his hand.

"4.5 to start with, Ensign", he ordered.

"Aye, Sir."

He closed his fingers around hers. He remained silent while the ship went to warp, but he radiated such a calm pride and contentedness that she couldn´t suppress another smile.

* * *

Not even ten minutes later, the team of scientists joined them at the conference room. So did some other crew members.

"Kayla ?" Trip exclaimed the moment he saw her. "Kayla `Kyle` Gaddison ?" He rounded the table and they hugged for a moment.

"It´s been a while!" she said.

"How are you ?" the engineer asked. "Why the hell did nobody tell me you´re coming ?"

"As nobody was told", Jonathan answered the question for her from across the table. Mild reproach rang through his words, but he sounded amused, too.

T`Pol entered. Archer took a deep breath.

"You´re looking good, girl, really!" Trip eyed Kayla up. "Seems you recovered quite quickly from this crash."

She nodded. "Luckily, yeah. I got your message! And you know, bad weeds grow tall!"

Archer introduced the science officer to the people present. He finally turned to Kayla who was still busy exchanging news with Trip.

"Dr. Kayla Gaddison", he said. "And T´Pol."

Kayla nodded to T´Pol the way the Vulcans did, knowing that they didn´t like to get in touch with people. T`Pol nodded back, her face more mask like than ever. "I read your latest reports about the class epsilon planet you examined", Kayla told her. "I would have loved to do some research there on my own."

"The circumstances there are surely unique", T´Pol answered calmly.

Kayla nodded, biting her lip for a second. Finally, she decided to give it a try. "Do you think there might be a chance to fill me in on some details if your schedule allows it ? I´ve been working for a while on the effects of a similar ecological system and radiation and a comparison between the differences and their effects of the two cases might be interesting."

Jonathan raised his eyebrows. He had still not found out about the criteria the Vulcan woman judged people by so quickly when meeting them the first time, but he know how to read the results out of her answers. T`Pol had spent days and nights on the analyses of that epsilon planet. If she´d refuse Kayla´s request nevertheless, the human scientist would already have failed.

"I understood that you couldn´t finish that project", T`Pol answered, mustering the human woman.

Kayla nodded again. "Unfortunately not, due to my accident. A colleague had to fill in for me as there was a deadline we had to consider. But my actual duties should allow me to do the comparison nevertheless. And I still feel like having to bring it to an end for myself. This would be a great opportunity."

T`Pol cocked her head. "I am sure there will be time to assemble and elucidate the data you need."

"I would really appreciate that."

The two women nodded again to each other, then T`Pol turned away. Archer realized that he had been holding his breath. Feeling oddly relieved, he turned to the other people present, clearing his throat to welcome them again.

* * *

The day ended with lunch at the officer´s mess with the whole research party and the high ranking officers. Trip had found himself a place opposites to Kayla and they reminisced about the good old days for a while. The chief engineer realized that Malcolm right next to him listened in carefully, but the guy was just too polite to comment on anything. Finally, Kayla managed to engage him in a conversation, asking questions about the Enterprise´s tactical systems.

"She knows a lot about weapon systems!" Reed murmured later on to Trip. "Her brother has helped developing latest technology for phase cannons ans stuff", Trip answered lowly. "So I guess that´s his work."

Malcolm only raised his eyebrows. "Well, I never discussed photon cannons with a climatologist before!"

Trip laughed. "Oh, she´s not only a climatologist. She studied physics and astrology and God knows what else. She and her brother were regarded prodigy twins. Just try and avoid showing her ´round on the weapon´s deck!"

Malcom got the hint. "I shouldn´t ? Why ?"

Trip lent back in his seat and threw their captain a peculiar look. "I am maybe not really up to date right now, but in former times, somebody used to held a privilege on that." Trip only chuckled, watching Reed´s eyes grew wide in surprise.

* * *

Kayla looked up when the cafeteria´s doors opened. She smiled, recognizing Jonathan.

"Hey!"

"Hey." He returned her smile. "You were not at your quarters.

Her smile widened. "I am a little anxious. Didn´t feel like going to sleep."

She padded the seat right next to her. "Get yourself a drink and join me ?"

He didn't move. "I was up to invite you to a drink to the Captain´s quarters, actually."

She laughed lowly. "Were you ?"

He nodded, smiling mischievously.

"Is this allowed ?" she inquired after a moment, mild sarcasm ringing through.

He just stood there, watching her. Everything about him just like she remembered.

„I am the Captain", he answered in amuse.

"Well." She got up. "I won´t disrespect the Captain then!"

* * *

Porthos welcomed the guest heartily – as he always had. She took the beagle to the couch with her, ruffling through his fur.

They shared a glass of wine , slowly readjusting to each other. Though it didn´t take them long to do so. It never had.

"Why the hell did you choose this mission ?" he asked, his fingers gently tracing the line of her jaw.

"It felt alright. Starting up slow again."

"With Morales of all people ? As his_ assistant_ ?"

"Oh come on, Jon! He had picked somebody else, some rookie, but the guy had to cancel things at the last moment for personal reasons. And I had enough of sitting around on Earth, listening to doctors and therapists. He owed me, so he took me with him."

"He´s got a nerve! He should assist you at the best."

She put her glass to the table besides the couch.

"I didn´t mean to intrude here", she stated. "But I couldn´t resist."

He watched her for a moment while taking a deep breath. Considering. Finally, he reached out and loosened the band that held back the mass of light hair of hers. "I couldn´t think of a better surprise."

Putting his glass away as well, he bent forward to kiss her.

There wasn´t much talk within the following hours. Not as they wouldn´t have much to talk about. But as talking was just a minor matter at that moment.

* * *

Jonathan woke some hours later, slightly confused at first.

The lights were off, but he hadn´t shaded the windows. He felt her more right next to him than he really saw her. Porthos´ sleeping place was empty. The beagle had curled on the sheets down at their feet.

Burying his face in her hair, the captain sighed silently. It had probably been against the rules to bring her here – and to make her stay with him for the night. The captain of all people should not have been messing around on his own ship

The somewhat unusual relationship he and Kayla shared had lasted for several years by now. He remembered Trip once telling him that he envied him for having found a woman who didn´t reproach him for allowing his work to gain highest priority in his life. His chief engineer had been right – Kayla had never blamed him for this. But not out of some admirable unselfishness, but as the girl had set her own priorities a long time ago. They had both been driven by a deep passion for their own respective missions through all their life. She had simply never asked him for anything she herself would have not been ready to give. Acknowledging the fact had effected the miracle – their careers, though determining their lives and whereabouts crucially and separating them often for months and years, had never gotten in their relationship´s way.

Still, Tucker had always been somehow confused about this seriousness of this liaison. There had been interludes, at least for Archer. He had no doubt that she had had her own, though he didn´t know for sure. But he couldn´t imagine that she hadn´t raised any other man´s attention, considering her character and not to forget her looks. But as they both had never really settled down with somebody so far, whatever they shared lasted. And whenever they could, they enjoyed the time they could spend together.

Archer smiled in the darkness of his bedroom, the woman he had made love to sleeping peacefully right next to him. It might not have been the right behaviour for a captain. But Phlox would surely have reassured him that some sex from time to time was the only thing helping to reduce tensions. He didn´t regret it anyway.

* * *

Kayla woke in the early hours of morning, only to find Jon right next to her already awake.

"Good morning", he wished her cheerfully.

"Good morning", she returned. Nestling up against him, she enjoyed waking up right next to him.

"Still an early riser ?" he asked.

She chuckled. "Still. I had to stick to these things. They helped me not getting sloppy during the sickleave." She turned to throw a look out of the window. "No dawn out here", she said, sounding contended.

"Space got you back", he told her.

"And I thank God for that!" She turned back to face him again. "When do you have to get up, Sir ?" she asked teasingly.

„Half an hour ago", he answered, grinning.

She smiled. "You want me to apologize for obstructing you ?"

He chuckled, forcing her in another tight embrace. "Yeah, I want you to."

"Everything you say", she shot back playfully.

He run his fingers through her hair for another moment, then tilted his head back.

„You could wash my back under the shower, Doc."

Her smile widened. "Aye, Sir!"


End file.
